Are you religious or not

[Tevye]

I was born and raised Jewish and follow only the most basic elements of the religion today. While I do go to Temple services a few times each year and fast for Yom Kippur I do not worry about eating pork or have seperate plates for dairy and meat.

 

[helgaleena]

I am a Reformed Druid of North America. And a Pastafarian. Make as many jokes as you wish! I am extremely religious.

 

[Bbucko]

I was raised Episcopalian but stopped going when my special needs sister was essentially "kicked out" of the nursery/church school. I was told to not bring her back unless a member of the family would attend to her. At that point, I was the only member of my family who even went regularly, and it left a distinctly sour taste in my mouth.

My current spirituality fluctuates between a disbelief in anything and an odd, singular kind of paganism that believes that there are a variety of energies that affect us in unpredictable ways.

My ego also finds it difficult to believe that I'm not here for some kind of reason, though what that might be is anybody's guess.

 

[mitchymo]

I'm agnostic

 

[accemb]

I survived Catholic School.

 

[D_Sparroe Spongecaques]

I was raised Catholic but i lost my faith when my daughter died...........

 

[polyglot4]

All thinking Men are Atheists. Religion is not the solution, it is the problem.

 

[Drifterwood]

I'm agnostic

Meh. Like vegetarians who eat chicken.

Being religious does not necessitate either faith or belief. This was a poor question as recognised by the original respondent who was sadly dismissed.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Look, I was baptized catholic, but because of moving around, and somewhat of my father's slight interference, not devout, tho do respects the faith.

 

[Jason]

All thinking Men are Atheists. Religion is not the solution, it is the problem.

Thinking men have long realised that the philosophical arguments to prove the existence of God are difficult. Indeed a few have gone as far as to assert that belief is solely a matter of faith, incapable of proof. Many have notwithstanding found the arguments for the existence of God overwhelmingly strong.

Thinking men have long realised that the philosophical arguments against the existence of God don't work at all. There are very, very few men who have truly considered the arguments and ended up as atheists.

Atheism is frequently claimed by people who think it is a cool, nihilistic statement, and think it justifies a mocking of the traditional beliefs of society. But this isn't atheism; it is ignorance. Hardly anyone who makes a serious study of the issues ends up as an atheist. Yes there are some, but the overwhelming majority who say "I'm an atheist" actually mean "I haven't taken the time to think about the issues". Atheism can occasionally be the belief of a thinking man, but almost always is the product of a lack of thought.

Theism and agnosticism are the natural conclusions for people who think - and the two have a lot of overlap. Agnostic often means a theist who doesn't like organised religion or who hasn't yet thought enough about the existence of God.

 

[Jason]

I'm agnostic

I don't doubt that you believe you are agnostic. I believe that you are a theist. One day you will come to realise that you are a theist and always have been. Its just that the codswallop organised religion puts forward is most off putting. :smile:

 

[HiddenLacey]

I was raised as a Baptist, by a small town church where everyone loved and helped everyone. However as that assembly is no longer a church I tried to look for a new place of worship. What I found was that I could not sit through a service that constantly rained hell and the devil on people who were different. I haven't been to a church in over 10 years now unless I was invited by a friend and normally at some point during my visit I was made uncomfortable by the things that were said. I'm not exactly sure what I am practicing anymore. I tend to believe that if there is a God he loves everyone equally no matter who they are.

 

[thetramp]

Thinking men have long realised that the philosophical arguments to prove the existence of God are difficult. Indeed a few have gone as far as to assert that belief is solely a matter of faith, incapable of proof. Many have notwithstanding found the arguments for the existence of God overwhelmingly strong.

Thinking men have long realised that the philosophical arguments against the existence of God don't work at all. There are very, very few men who have truly considered the arguments and ended up as atheists.

Atheism is frequently claimed by people who think it is a cool, nihilistic statement, and think it justifies a mocking of the traditional beliefs of society. But this isn't atheism; it is ignorance. Hardly anyone who makes a serious study of the issues ends up as an atheist. Yes there are some, but the overwhelming majority who say "I'm an atheist" actually mean "I haven't taken the time to think about the issues". Atheism can occasionally be the belief of a thinking man, but almost always is the product of a lack of thought.

Theism and agnosticism are the natural conclusions for people who think - and the two have a lot of overlap. Agnostic often means a theist who doesn't like organised religion or who hasn't yet thought enough about the existence of God.

i do not think this is a good post of all, you generalize and assume with no facts backing it up. It is not possible for you, nor for anyone else for that matter, to judge what people who seriously study this matter eventually decide to believe. It is equally ridiculous to make such generalized statements about atheist or any other group of people.
And it doesn't get any better by you judging over what another member is and believing you can tell him what he will find out to be one day.
This is ignorance.

I won't even get into your idea of atheist philosophy

 

[Jason]

i do not think this is a good post of all, you generalize and assume with no facts backing it up. It is not possible for you, nor for anyone else for that matter, to judge what people who seriously study this matter eventually decide to believe. It is equally ridiculous to make such generalized statements about atheist or any other group of people.
And it doesn't get any better by you judging over what another member is and believing you can tell him what he will find out to be one day.
This is ignorance.

I won't even get into your idea of atheist philosophy

Well look for example at Bertrand Russell, an outstanding example of an atheist philosopher. Yet even Russell found that his atheism was not something he could prove - while he thought the existence of God unlikely he couldn't discount it. There is a brief discussion at Bertrand Russell on Agnosticism and Atheism

Atheism is incredibly hard to hold as an academic argument. Yes it is possible for people (like Russell) to be atheists. But it takes a lot of thought and study and hard work to be an atheist. You don't just decide you are an atheist. You have to spend years studying to get there. There are atheists in philosophy departments of universities and in a few other places, but not many of them.

Russell actually saw atheism and agnosticism as closely related, though his view is unusual. A theme in Christian theology is to see agnosticism and theism as related. As a logical statement agnosticism sets out the possibility of God, and is therefore a limited statement of belief. All agnostics are therefore partial believers. Someone who says "I'm agnostic" is - by definition - a theist.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

As a logical statement agnosticism sets out the possibility of God, and is therefore a limited statement of belief.

I have to say that it's possible there's an elephant in my bathroom, but is that to be taken as expression of a limited belief that there is one?

 

[thetramp]

I will not get into this discussion here, first of all it is not possible within the means of this forum, secondly it would take this thread completely away from it's topic.

Again you are generalizing. You are making assumptions based on single persons believes, or your own believes and definitions of how a person does get to have a faith or not, which is a complex sociological question itself.
I can tell you that there are plenty of atheist in philosophy departments of universities, and in the last about 2500 years of philosophical history.
But that takes plenty of different interpretations of those terms in to consideration.
There even is a in recent german philosophy and theology rather common path that can does connect christianity with atheism. But i didn't even want to go this far.
I just would strongly suggest that you do not force your interpretation of terms like atheism on other members who try to answer in this thread, that is very ignorant thing to do.

 

[thetramp]

I have to say that it's possible there's an elephant in my bathroom, but is that to be taken as expression of a limited belief that there is one?

Totally off topic, but i got to say you really got a spacious bathroom.

 

[Bbucko]

"Agnostic" is related to the word "gnosis", which refers to a hidden knowledge, generally of a spiritual variety (though I've seen it used in other contexts. too). The "a" confers a lack thereof, so an agnostic is someone who does not have hidden, spiritual knowledge; it's come to mean "doubter" in a popular sense, but when I hear someone say that they are agnostic, I tend to think that they are people who aren't schooled in the philosophy and principles of a given religion.

In my experience, most people who claim to be atheists have put a great deal of thought into it. It's still something of a shocking thing to say out loud (which isn't quite like typing a contribution on a message board). A real, genuine atheist is usually pretty quiet about it.

IMO, most of the vocal atheists, especially those who delight in blasphemy, really do believe in God because they are in a sort of constant argument with Him. Their very denial is, in a sense, perpetuating this argument and keeping it going.

My maternal grandmother was an atheist, but never discussed it. As near as I can tell, any spiritual beliefs that my mother ever learned came either from her grandmother or her father (who my grandmother insisted renounce his Catholicism before agreeing to marry him). I spent whole months of my childhood in their care, and not once was God or any kind of spirituality ever mentioned, let alone discussed. .

My paternal grandfather, on the other hand, claimed to deny the existence of God but never shut up about it and blasphemed constantly, just like he'd openly berate my grandmother (his wife) openly for going to church (she was the daughter of a Unitarian minister). But my grandfather was a bitter, hateful old man

My mother, who claims to be agnostic, hedged her bets. She raised my sisters and I to believe in God and my parents went church shopping before deciding they liked low-church Episcopalian best. Aside from occasional holidays, my mother only stepped into a church to attend weddings and funerals. She cannot bring herself to say that she has no faith, and she still (40 years later) "blames" Him for the sickness that led to my youngest sister's autistic-like condition.

When younger, my other sister, two years younger than me, claimed either agnosticism or atheism depending on her mood. In her 30s, she flirted with Wicca, but, due in no small part to the influence of her current partner, seems to have embraced a kind of church-free Catholicism, complete with a Mary mania that is incomprehensible to me. Her e-mails are full of such sugary piety that I find it difficult to believe that she wrote them.

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Totally off topic, but i got to say you really got a spacious bathroom.

That's partly an effect of the ceiling mirror.
But yeah, it's, um ... it's big.

 

[BJs4You IL]

Catholic...and happy!